GP practices to host parenting classes under new children's strategy

GPs will be encouraged to host courses teaching parenting skills under the Government's new strategy for children's health services.

The Department of Health's vision document for children's health service, published this week, sets out details of the £340m investment pledged to improve the health and well-being of children.

Initiatives include the development and testing of a new antenatal programme and ‘preparation for parenthood packages' for mothers and fathers –to be trialled in GP surgeries.

‘The Government will therefore work with practitioners and service users and will draw on the latest evidence to develop a new Antenatal Education and Preparation for Parenthood Programme' the report states.

‘This will be tested in a variety of settings where parents access health services, such as GP practices and Sure Start Children's Centres, to determine its suitability to become more widely available', it continues.

The strategy also promised to boost the number of health visitors available to work in GP surgeries, after a Pulse investigation revealed swingeing cuts meant the number of primary care health visitors in England had been drastically slashed by 10% in just two years.

GPs to teach parenting skills under Government's new childrens strategy